After many months boarded up and barricaded by a chain-link fence, an old-fashioned source of learning burst into the sunshine today showing a whole new look.

The Palisades Library, after a renovation budgeted at $8.2 million, reopened, an event welcomed with a ribbon-cutting and a throng of eager readers.

By Karen Quash’s estimate, there were hundreds of people waiting. “It was heart-warming to see all the people this morning waiting to come in,” said Quash, the library branch’s new manager, taking time for an interview at the end of opening day. “This is a lovely community with a lot of people who love their library.”

It’s a glassy, bright and colorful space that provides enlarged vistas, window seats, reading nooks, conference areas and study rooms, and refreshed holdings.

All Photos Credit: John A. Bray

Quash, a former private and charter school teacher, is a library veteran. She comes to her Palisades job from the Southwest Branch, and with more than a decade working in the city’s public library system, a masters degree in education from Harvard University and a masters in library science from Catholic University.

The renovation of the library at 4901 V St., off MacArthur Boulevard, was the work of Cox, Graae & Spack Architects and MCN Build. Library officials said the project included community meetings, surveys and focus groups to “gather feedback on what residents want to see in their renovated library.”